Sydney author Isabelle Li’s debut short story collection is a rich exploration of Chinese culture and language, and the dissonances and mistranslations that result through migration and cross-cultural encounters.

Their first guest is writer and translator Isabelle Li, who came to Australia via Singapore after growing up in China. Her collection of short stories A Chinese Affair (Margaret River Press) has just been published.

I believe in craftsmanship and technique. Painters and sculptors spend years training for their art, and so should writers who paint and sculpt with words. I also believe in effort. Between talent and a disciplined approach, I’d rather trust the latter.

I often write on public transport, the back of a bus, the quiet carriage of a train, the cramped aisle seat of an airplane. I write at home, and away – one writes well in the solitude of a strange city in a state of jetlagged disorientation.